Abrasion
by didsomeonesayventus
Summary: "The hero was not raised in fields of gold. He was raised in sands of gold. The sky was not serene blue. It was harsh and striking. Winds were not kind. They were harsh and carried death. This is the beginnings of the hero. This is the beginning of Link of the Gerudo." just dabbling in origin stories.
1. Chapter 1: Exile

Ma're continued combing the sandy dunes long past her post. She couldn't help it. Not when she heard a child crying in this goddess forsaken desert. The youngling couldn't have been any older than one if they were still hollering like this. Either that or in immense pain.

And then she found the child. Its skin was red and slightly peeling from the bite of the sun, but still pale enough to contrast with her dark hands. The hair was the color of gold. Clearly Hylian descent. She picked the child up and undid some more of the swaddled cloth to tell that this child was a young boy.

Ma're began humming under her breath and soothing the child while trying to track who abandoned him. A few ways off she found a skeleton. Nope. The desert was harsh, but if this child was left in this unforgiving place today- which Ma're would bet her life on -even the harshest winds couldn't strip away the cloth and skin of a deceased parent that fast. Whoever left the boy here was long gone, and the sand denied any knowledge of where they went and why they left the child.

Ma're headed back to the fort, "Little one, you need shade and water." She glanced down when he gurgled at her. His eyes were as blue as the cloudless sky.

She smiled. He liked her, and maybe she liked him, too. She mounted her horse, saying in a coddling voice, "You're my little arrow, my little Link."

...

Link was ten when he finally got to ride a horse and learn how to fire a bow. Until then he had been helping his surrogate mother, Ma're, do household chores. She did watch for the fortress most of the time, so it was Link and a few other Gerudo women who taught him what to do and the customs of the tribe.

He whooped at the desert wind combing his lanky, curly hair as his horsemanship sored to attention. He'd always watch his mother leave, so now those years of watching came to fruition. The camp was surprised to see the ten year old handling the stallion so well, traveling at breakneck speed and turning on a Rupee. Link had a grin on his face the belied nothing but pride at how many gawked in pride at him.

The little arrow was soaring fast.

He pulled his horse to a rapid, disheveled and dangerously sudden stop (the horse almost tipped onto its side, which would have been at least a crippling sentence if it weren't for Link's instincts) at the imposing glare of the Gerudo chief:

_Ganondorf_.

...

Link had seen thirteen rains when he went on his first raid. He'd finally gotten approval from Ganondorf that he wouldn't screw anything up. Those were his exact words. It was clear Ganondorf expected Link to be subpar at best.

Still, a thirteen year old was a powerfully determined being when excited. Link's hand shook with trepidation and joy as he nocked an arrow with a wide grin. He could do it! He could certainly get a wheel stopped so the ladies could do the real work. He wouldn't screw up that way, could he? Maybe Lord Ganondorf would commend him this time... Or smile. Or something. All Link wanted was approval. He was thirstier for it than water.

"Link."

Link drew his bow, took aim, and fired. His aim was perfect.

...

Link blew his bangs out of his eyes. They weren't quite long enough to tie back yet. Still had to keep an eye on prisoners, though. The Hylians whimpered and whined in the sun. Suited them for wearing such heavy clothing. All you needed was linen in one layer, maybe an undershirt if you felt the day was cool.

The boy didn't feel any connection with his ancestral kin. He knew he wasn't Gerudo, but he had become a child of the Goddess of the Sands. He Wasn't Hylian either. He'd lost that when he was handed over to the winds and the sands.

He stopped, taking a better look at the flash he saw out of the corner of his eye.

The flash was a lock of blonde hair from a girl three years younger. Her skin was already blotchy red, and her eyes were teary and blue. Link glanced at his fellows, then stared at the girl. Her clothes were fancy. Like Ganondorf's except more Hylian. Royal clothes with a tiara in her sweat-pasted hair and long ears. But what drew Link in was her eyes.

Time and time again he had been told his blue eyes were an omen of struggle, among other fortunes. His adoptive tribe loved telling the future with the windows to their souls. Link had a small knack of the divinatory hobby from watching and waiting.

This girl's eyes begged and screamed with heavy burdens and a great destiny in her future.

The girl stared back, as if she couldn't believe who this boy was. Not a haughty, almighty look given her status, just confused. Link's skin was tanner, but still a very pale shade compared to his fellows.

Link left her, finding the silent questions unbearable and desiring for the girl to leave the desert whenever she could.

...

Link was fifteen. Not quite a man yet, but man enough to get his ears pierced. He sat there with a placid expression while his fellow women winced, whimpered, and cried.

He wanted to be different in a good way. He wanted to be strong like his family. He wanted to be strong for an "outsider".

He glanced around as one ear was slowly being pierced, watching Ganondorf a ways off reading scrolls that had been retrieved in their last raid. The chief kept looking at Link recently like he was poison. Of course, most of the women kept saying that Lord or not Ganondorf was starting to slip in his sanity.

Ever since he had learned of the Triforce and Sacred Realm of Hyrule

...

Link had seen seventeen rains when his mother was lost.

His hand trembled, unable to burn the funeral pyre in the middle of this moonless desert. It was always the vanished moon when they went out into the desert with the intent for the deceased to be lost in the sands, never to be found again and permanently released to the Goddess of the Sands.

Ma're's closest friend, Saran, guided his hand and lit the dried palm leaves. Link turned to her and bawled as his hands scrambled for something to cling to. He'd been raised by the tribe, but his mother wasn't like anyone else he'd met.

...

Link ate his dinner in silence. The sun was down and the chill of night was creeping into his bones. He made this little hut of his by himself after Ma're died. Ganondorf had denied anything Link's mother left behind for him to little uproar. While it was small it was there, which was odd considering the respect Ganondorf got as the sole true Gerudo male. He was grateful for all who stayed with him to build his home. He just wished he had more of a family.

The canvas of his door brushed aside, and Link nodded in respect to whoever was entering.

He did a double take and paled when he realized Ganondorf had come. Link quickly prostrated himself on the ground and hoped for mercy. He felt Ganondorf grab his arm, felt only air as he was tossed out of his own house, and finally lost any of the breath in his lungs when he crashed into a pile of wood and building tools.

Link was hoisted out of the rubble by Ganondorf, who threw Link to his feet, "Do you know how old you are, Uknir?!"

Link swayed a little and tried steadying his head. He knew "Uknir" was the family name he had taken on. And by taken on he meant forced into choosing by Ganondorf. No one wanted Uknir. Uknir meant "broken".

Link stood as tall as he could, squaring his shoulders and becoming wary of the crowd, "18, Lord Ganondorf."

Link ran when he saw that fist reaching for his head rather than his chest, "Exactly!"

The crowd gasped and huddled backward into their homes as Link began running along walls and rooftops to try and escape. The Gerudo chief was on a rampage. Link jumped up out of Ganondorf's reach, knowing he was much more nimble-

Ganondorf grabbed his leg and sent Link rocketing back to the earth. Link rolled away just as two scimitars launched at where his neck used to be. He looked at the gouges in the sand with wide eyes, then at Ganondorf; what was this madness?

Ganondorf pointed a scimitar at Link. His eyes were monstrously blinded with rage, "18. A man. Eligible for _my_ throne."

The crowd murmured with dissent. Link was not eligible, in fact. He wasn't the once-in-a-hundred-years man. He was just a little one found in the desert. At best the child could hope for being a captain or second-in-command while Ganondorf was alive.

But Ganondorf was beyond reason with this, and Link held up his arms in desperation to keep the Lord's scimitars away from anywhere more vital. He cried out, and soon brought his arms in to hug them and staunch their bleeding. Link began running again. He knew he just had to outwit Ganondorf and get somewhere where he would be safe.

Link grabbed a bow and tried firing to make an impromptu trap, but realized he had greatly underestimated where the Gerudo chief was as a sword pommel slammed into his eye. Link staggered against a wall, holding his right hand against it while his left made sure his eye was still working.

"Hero Who Protects The Triforce! Feel the sting of my blade!"

Link screamed as Ganondorf's scimitar rammed through his right hand, pinning it against the wall.

The women of the tribe were at a loss. This had never happened in the tribe's history. There had never been a squabble for power like this. Maybe Lord Ganondorf had gone mad. Actually, no maybe about it. Still, it was clear that even though Link was male and identified as Gerudo, he was by all technicalities Hylian, and unable to ascend to the rank of chief unless he went through much more strenuous trials and hardships to prove himself. Even then Ganondorf had to be supplanted. Or murdered. Perhaps the insane one had some reasoning. It was still chilling to watch while they couldn't lift a finger without fear of opposing Ganondorf, though.

Link was holding up his left arm to block sword blow after sword blow. He couldn't take much more of this, and his hand needed to be treated. Already tears were washing black rivers of diluted kohl down his face in a disgraceful sight. He pulled out the blade and began running again. There wasn't much else he could do. Ganondorf outclassed him by miles.

He stumbled up the steps to the temple of the Sand Goddess, hoping and praying he could do something-

Link was yanked back by his pony tail, left to fall onto the steps. He sat there when his journey was over, dazed. Blood oozed past his eye. He had trouble thinking, but managed to will himself to sit up. He looked up to see ebony metal glinting in the torchlight. Ganondorf was yelling something, and women were finally screaming for it all to end.

Link backpedaled rapidly, climbing the steps and onto his feet. The ground shook at the strength of Ganondorf's blade crashing into the earth. Link didn't know what to do. He watched as Ganondorf lifted his sword again with a single desire to see Link's blood all over the stairs he stood on, "Perhaps your blood will grace these steps as a lovely offering to the Sand Goddess."

Link held out his bleeding arms to the sky and tossed his head back to the heavens, "GODDESS OF THE SAND! I BEG OF YOU TO HEAR MY PLEA AS ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN!" Silence fell on the courtyard as Link's voice dwindled away, "Please... I seek asylum, I seek sanctuary."

Link watched Ganondorf, wondering if that wasn't enough. Then the torches dimmed. Their dancing flames stilled and fell away. People gasped in awe when they flared back to life again, decreeing it a sign the the desert goddess heard Link and was proclaiming her ward over him.

Link took his chance and threw himself into the temple before anyone could say otherwise.

...

His arms ached in their bandaged prisons of white linen designed with orange and blue and green in healing glyphs of the Goddess of the Sands. His right hand was near useless. Link smiled a little hopefully at how he knew he was taught how to use both hands. That would be handy.

"Link? Link, dearest oasis, where are you?"

Link sprang to his feet and ran for the voice, and found himself stumbling into the arms of a friend, "Saran! Oh Saran!"

Saran patted his back, "Yes, I am here, I am here." She pulled away and held up his chin, "You were so brave."

Link shook his head, "I don't feel brave. I feel scared."

Saran backed away and began pulling things out from underneath her robe, "That in and of itself is bravery." Link counted water and food that would last for about a week between horse and rider, saw a star chart bound with silk. He looked at Saran, confused.

Saran gave him the provisions, "Ganondorf still asks for your head. He won't rest until he knows you are dead."

"Of course." Link nodded grimly and began attaching the water to his belts.

Saran continued, "His Lordship says that the flames flaring once was a sign that you only have tonight as protection. Many are uneasily agreeing to his plan to make you an arrow holder the moment you step out tomorrow morning."

"Then why do I need this? You need it more than I do!" Link cried, handing back the gifts.

Saran pushed them back into his hands, then wrapped her black cloak around him, "Because Ganondorf said in the morning. The night still sleeps. You can escape."

Link took them back, frowning. Saran guided him to a horse, and watched as he mounted it, "Follow the stars I marked with red. That should get you to Hyrule and there's just enough water and food to last. If anyone asks, say you seek asylum from the Gerudo."

Link shook his head, "N-no! No Saran I-I can't you know what they'll do-"

"Link, dearest oasis," Saran snapped, "this is a matter of your life. The life Ma're thought was worth salvaging from the sands that should have swallowed you." Saran hugged Link for what she knew to be the last time, "Link, you know she would want you to leave and seek sanctuary among your true kin."

Link began crying again, adding more black on his cheeks in clumped patches while some tears washed it away, "No, no I don't want to go-"

"Link, we all love you." Saran said, "We raised you into a strong warrior who will find a path straighter than any little arrow could take."

Link clinged to the hug for as long as he could. His voice cracked as he whispered, "Saran, my love for all of you burns hotter than the sun, and is colder than the moon."

Saran nodded, but she pulled away with tears in her amber eyes. She smacked the rear of Link's horse with a yell, and watched as the black dot on the horizon became smaller and smaller.

Link couldn't help but watch as his home became lost in the ever shifting dunes, then kept his eyes fixed on the stars that would guide him to the safety of Hyrule. Slowly, his gaze lowered to his left hand, clutching the reins with a pale, golden glow of three triangles.

* * *

okay Gerudo!Link backstory has just been eating me forever and now I just sit and write almost 3k in one sitting. I just hope that this is the origin of the Zelda 2015 Link because gosh this is so intriguing to me.


	2. Chapter 2: Lon Lon Ranch

The journey wasn't rough, but it was tiring. Link's eyes strained at the starry sky to try and find his guiding star, and it was torture resisting his urge to nod off into sleep. Saren had picked him a good horse, and he was thankful for that. Of course, by a good pick Link meant it was restless and kept him on his toes.

Saren had been also correct in picking his supplies; the journey to Hyrule was plagued with riding the desert by night and hiding among the dunes to rest by day. Link could barely sleep, constantly nodding off then bolting awake at the slightest provocation, thinking someone had found him.

It was a good half hour past the dawn of the sixth day when the sand became grass. As the sun climbed the desert smoothly transitioned to neat dirt paths in an endless sea of waving green. Link paused atop a cliff to admire it all; he'd never really seen his neighbor country, he suddenly realized. He tiredly smiled at the beckoning grass. They were right to call this a golden land- it was heaven.

He saw what looked like a ranch a short walk away with horses grazing in their pen. Link got off of his horse, wondering what to do with it. He could send it back, but it had a good chance of not surviving. He could let it drift in Hyrule, but some poor person would end up with it and incur the wrath of his tribe. Still, Link didn't want the beast to perish, and with a yell he sent it careening through the plains, never to be seen again.

As he approached the ranch, Link wondered if they'd be welcoming to him. He still had his cloak and blue tunic that were distinctly not Hylian. He looked at himself in a nearby pool of water; blue eyes, gold hair. Hylian traits. They'd be welcoming enough.

Link walked in with his hood down and with purpose. If there was anything he learned people didn't tend to suspect someone who walked like he knew where he was going. The ranch was identified by a slightly dusty and worn sign: Lon Lon Ranch: Fine Dairy Products and Equestrian Sundries.

Link walked up to the door to the owner's house, ready to knock. He hesitated, realizing he was using his right hand. There was still dried blood on it, and it wasn't closing all the way. There was a numbness he suddenly noticed as well. It scared him.

"Hey! Sir!"

It took Link a moment to realize someone was calling to him, and he turned around. A girl with waist-length red hair was approaching him. Her dress had boots under it and was stained with what Link presumed was milk and dust and other things. She swung her bucket from one hand to the other and held out her freed hand, "Malon's the name, helpin' customers is my game!"

Link stared at her hand. He didn't know what custom this was, but uncertainly he shook it. His lips didn't budge. The girl- Malon, he reminded himself -straightened, let go of his hand, and huffed a little, "So, you here for milk? Cheese? Maybe a new saddle! We do lotsa saddles-"

"I'm looking for refuge. Just for the night at least." Link's words were mumbled and quiet.

Malon paused her babbling to try and catch the words. Her ears- long and pointed like Link's, making him realize that wasn't abnormal and probably another Hylian trait -flicked in the air a moment. Her smile scrunched up, "Um, say again? I didn't catch that."

"I just want somewhere to stay for tonight." Link said again. His hands were clasping each other in front of his and he was staring at them, the gem-like grass, his boots, anything but Malon.

Malon responded to this by leaning into his vision, "Okay! No need to be embarrassed, me n' pop would love to help ya out!"

Link jumped, and watched Malon saunter past him and open the door, "Hey, pop! Think we can let a guy stay the night?!" Her voice was loud. Link was sure it could be heard for miles.

Link heard a dim reply, "Of course, but make sure he gets some good work done while he stays!"

Link nodded almost automatically. That was a fair trade. He looked around, then noticed horses. He felt his lips flick into a smile for just a moment. He liked horses, horses liked him, it was perfect. He began drifting over towards them.

Then Malon unceremoniously grabbed his arm and sent them both careening elsewhere, "No horses yet! We still gotta take care of the cows!" And so the morning filled with Malon teaching Link the ways of the farm. Cows bellowing, a few kicking, curses and laughter. Thumps of hay, pats of human hands against hide.

Link did his magic when they could tend to the horses, though. He leapt right into the pen with Malon trying to jump over the fence with similar ease in a panic, "W-Wait they don't take kindly to stran-" Link had pulled out a small clay flute and was playing a soft, lilting, yet exotic tune with one hand and the other stretched out against one horse's muzzle. Malon finished her sentence with a surprised smile, "gers..."

Link was soon surrounded by the herd, laughing as they nuzzled him for treats and brayed in disappointment. Then Malon cleared her throat and began singing, "Here it's safe, Here it's warm, Here you aren't alone." The herd left Link and walked to Malon. Without skipping a beat she pulled out treats for them all, "Here you all will be loved, None will hurt you here," She repeated her tune, except this time going over each and every name of the horses.

A clydesdale- chestnut coat and white feathering in its mane, tail, and legs; a beautiful horse -trotted over to Malon and she brought her song to a close, "Epona, Epona, Epona my dear..." The two pushed close to each other, muzzle to nose.

Link approached and patted the horse, "Epona's the name?"

"Beautiful, ain't she?" Malon sighed, "Named after The Hero's horse. Gem of the ranch, she is."

Link tensed when she mentioned the word "Hero". Ganondorf thought he was a hero. One who protected that stupid myth. Epona suddenly leaned over and snorted in Link's hair, then skittered away. "Easy, easy, Epona." Malon began rubbing the horse's muzzle, "It's alright, he's friendly-"

Link had pulled out his flute again and began playing Malon's song by ear. Epona left Malon's side and began cantering around Link with happy nickers. Malon grinned at Link, "Wow, no one's ever realized that Epona loves my music. You're pretty sharp, sir."

Link didn't hear Malon. Epona... What could he say about this beautiful horse? Something about her felt like she was already his. Her brown eyes stared at his blue ones as if to say: I know you, I know you.

...

The day had already wound down when Malon realized that the rust stains on Link's clothes were blood. So Link's wrappings were being cleaned and Malon was inspecting the old wounds. "Gosh, no wonder you were quiet. Whatever happened was terrible." Link nodded. He made sure that the mark on his left hand was hidden; who knows what she'd say if she saw that.

He flinched when she bent his right hand and tried to force it closed. She looked at it some more then said, "This one's gonna be like this for the rest of your life. Hit in just the wrong spot." Her finger lingered over the scab turning into a scar, "Nice story to tell, I guess."

Link didn't think that day that Malon could be so quiet. She was addressing him like he was a skittish horse. She then got up and went to a cabinet to rummage through it. Link ran his right hand along the wounds on his left arm. He felt quiet. He didn't want to say anything.

There was a pop. Something glittered. Link raised his head to see a glowing ball with wings dancing overhead and letting bits of light sink into his hair and skin. Link's mouth whispered open, "Fairy...?"

He looked at his hand; the scar was still there, but faded. His arm; nothing, better than new. While Link marveled at his healed injuries, Malon sighed with a laugh, "Never seen a fairy, huh?"

Link shook his head. He thought they were rumors they were so rare in the desert. He heard legends of a fountain where they danced somewhere in the heart of the sands, but quickly he used reasoning to disprove it. Fairies wouldn't be in the middle of a desert.

Malon put the bottle back on a shelf, "Got that one from a fountain a quick ride from here."

Link was cupping the fairy in his hands. He was entranced by the glow, by the serene dip and sway of its floating. He held it up and tried to see the source of the light, but it just seemed to be... there. He flicked near a wing, it dipped away with a jingle. He bounced his hands, the fairy mirrored.

Malon laughed, "Well, fairy boy, I think it likes you!" Link looked at her, and she explained, "Normally the things just up and leave when they're done." She sat down again and checked his wrappings, "No need for these, but do ya still want 'em?" Link nodded, letting the fairy go to exchange it for some of the last pieces of home. Link was going to wrap himself up when Malon went ahead and did that anyways, "I get it, they're yours."

"Malon!" her father called, "Dinner!"

Malon finished Link's wrappings and stood, "POP!" She stormed off, leaving Link rubbing his arms. "POP I'VE TOLD YOU! YOU GOT NO CLUE HOW TO COOK!" Dinner was delayed as Malon grumbled over the chicken stew, tasting, grimacing, trying to save the apparent culinary disaster. "Couldn't cook to save his life or mine." She grumbled as she set down the meal.

Link took a small slurp when she wasn't looking. It was delicious. More than that. How on earth could someone make something so good?

"Well you're being awfully picky as always. I tasted it myself and it wasn't that bad." Malon's father- a portly man with a bushy mustache by the name of Talon -said as he waved his spoon in the air.

Malon put her hands on her waist and leaned in aggressively close, "Pops, let's just eat." She gestured to Link, "I wasn't having our number three and honored guest eating pig slop."

She then sat down at the head of the table and held her father's hand. Her other lingered in the air near Link, expectant, waiting. Link accepted it reluctantly, not knowing what was going on. He just wanted a decent meal. His stomach pleaded embarrassingly loud, causing Malon to snigger.

Malon then cleared her throat, and began intoning, "Din, we thank you for your strong sun to grow our food,"- Link's ear twitched up; Din? The name was familiar -"Nayru, we thank you for the wisdom to harvest it,"- Link shifted uncomfortably in his chair; oh yes, the Golden Goddesses of Hyrule -"Farore," Malon and Talon giggled, "we thank you for making it in the first place!" She smiled at Link, "And we thank you for guiding..." She paused, studying Link carefully.

"W-what?" Link asked.

"Just never got your name, that's all." Malon said. Her words lingered as if she expected Link to answer it instantly.

"I don't have to give my name." was all Link said.

"Don't be silly, fairy boy!" Malon laughed at him as if he told a good joke, "Farore gives our parents our names and in turn our parents give our names to us. So what name did she give you?"

Link was almost ready to yell at her. He didn't receive a name from that play-pretend deity. His name was from his mother. His name meant "little arrow". It certainly wasn't from any goddess that didn't exist. His name was his, and he could tell it to as many as he wanted.

Yet the word ground past his lips: "Link. My name is Link."

"Thank you, Farore, for guiding Link into our loving home." Malon finished the prayer. She clapped her hands, "Let's eat then!"

Chit-chat became much less strained on Link's part, mostly he could listen, which is exactly what he wanted to do in this foreign land. He learned a few more things, found out a few more customs and figured out what was commonplace and what wasn't.

"Link, where've ya been?"

Link continued eating his soup as if he hadn't heard what Malon said. She said again, "Where've ya been? Obviously not in Hyrule for awhile."

Link set down his bowl, "I can withhold that information, can I?"

"Yes, don't be rude, Malon." Talon agreed.

"Well, your clothes are different." Malon tittered, "You even acted like one of those desert-folk."

Link stiffened. He didn't know it was that obvious.

Malon waved her hand, "I bet you're one of those missionaries who went to educate those weird peoples." Link felt his stomach sink. He didn't think he was weird. He felt outrage sink into a soft, mushy bowl of his stomach that he could only equate as a deep blow to his confidence.

"Y-yeah." He said. The words felt like poison, "My parents and I were missionaries."

...

Link stared at the blackness he figured was the roof. The bed was soft, comfortable. He'd rather sleep on sand and rocks. This was a fool's bed.

He turned over, and tried sleeping.

He missed his home already.

* * *

DAMN IT I SAID THIS WOULD BE A ONE SHOT BUT UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


	3. Chapter 3: The Castle

Link looked at the gleaming town nestled within the castle walls. He'd be safe there, could probably find a house. No one would think of him staying in such a crowded place, and there was plenty of spots to hide in in a city.

"Gon' be on your way today, right?" Malon plopped next to him with her skirts flying up and drifting back down.

Link shrugged, "Dunno. I'm heading there." He pointed towards the white walls to indicate his destination.

Malon squinted, then looked at him, "Few hours by horse; whole day on foot." Link leaned back, inhaling the sweeter air of Hyrule. Day on foot. He could do that. Easy. Malon then said worriedly, "The gates close at sundown. And you don't got anything to protect yourself with."

It was Link's turn to give her a funny look, "What?"

"Oh, you've prob'ly been gone so long you forgot about the Stalchildren." Link's frown grew as Malon began warning him like it was a dark night and she was trying to scare him into staying, "They say they're children and women who've gotten lost. Died of thirst, starvation, disease, maybe even unjustly murdered. They come back at night to get revenge on their cruel deaths by dragging the unsuspecting traveler into the ground with 'em at sunrise after rending their flesh with claws the whole night, and the cycle repeats."

Link took back his statements about Hyrule being beautiful, "That's... pleasant."

"There's also a word or two roaming around about a blessed weapon being able to soothe their souls if they're defeated by it, but I think it's a load of horse droppings." Malon added, as if to try and reassure him but ending up blurting out her own opinion.

Link stood, "Well, I wanna get there before nightfall then. Better get walking." Link judged the sunrise; he had... what, 11 hours?

Malon bounded off, "Hold on, lemme let ya borrow a horse."

Link was surprised when she guided Epona's reins into his hands. Malon held out her own, "All I ask is for a quick lesson with that flute of yours and letting me keep it. Then you can borrow Epona as you please. Whenever, wherever, fairy boy."

Link pulled it out, and hesitated. Malon put her fingers in her mouth and whistled the same three descending notes twice, and Epona responded by getting closer to her. Malon smiled, "See? With that song she always comes running. I'm askin' for the flute because it seems to work better with the other horses."

Link put it in her hands, and in about half an hour Malon's flute music was drifting through the fields long after Link and Epona had left.

...

Link sent Epona back on her way to Lon Lon Ranch when the ride was done and went through the gates alone. His hands fumbled his hood back up. He hated crowds; they compressed him. He hated the city; it was stench and noise that made his ears ring. Why was this such a good idea at Lon Lon Ranch?

Still, he'd grow accustomed to it. Link kept saying it in his head over and over again. He'd grow accustomed to it. While walking through market street he realized he didn't have any rupees. He left every gem to his name at his home.

All at once, Link stopped in the street and closed out the bustle of urban life. What was he going to do now? His plan- his only, dear plan -hit a bump in the road he didn't know how to fix. He looked around; people were clutching their purses or had their hands hover around them, most looked far more mistrustful than Malon had been. Link craned his neck to see beggars without anything.

When people's anger and insults became too much, Link drifted in the crowd while trying to think about what he would do. An idea illuminated a possibility, and he pulled out Saren's star chart. Without any hesitation he went out to find the proper merchant and sold it for a meager price. 50 rupees wasn't much, but it was more than nothing.

With another in a long line of tired and scared sighs, Link sat down on the edge of a fountain in the main square. 50 rupees, what would he do? He glanced up at the crowd; not many were paying attention, but quite a few were giving him odd looks.

Especially an old woman who appeared to be blind across the way. He watched her, certain she wasn't watching him back, but then noticed her crossing through the busy street, and slowly realized her eyes were just very, very gray.

Link stood and was about to join the crowd when bony hands wrapped around his left wrist, "Excuse me, young man."

Link didn't look back. There were two Gerudo women (their names were Aaleyah and Kabira, Link recalled) watching the square, leaning on a post-board that had several bounties on it. Link was unsure if his own was on there yet, but he didn't want to chance it. He needed to _run_.

"Hmm, the mark of the Triforce..."

Link stiffened. He stiffened to the point where he was a statue. He tried wrenching his hand away, "Just a birthmark. It's stupid. It doesn't look like that relic get your eyes checked!"

He turned to see those intensely gray eyes trained on him, "I think you're denying it, boy."

"My name is Link." He said softly, "Now please," he glanced at the Gerudo women; they seemed to start recognizing him, "_let me go!_"

The old woman grinned like Link was a precious gem, "I will, I just need you to do an errand for an aging woman." She removed her ring. It was gold, a bent circle formed from an image of the Triforce flanked by wings. She slipped it from her thin finger onto Link's thicker one, making a snug fit, "All I ask is you go to the castle and meet a dear friend of mine waiting the the topmost chamber in the center of the castle. If anyone gives you trouble, show them this ring."

Link fingered the ring anxiously, "Why should I?" What if this woman was tricking him? Setting him up so Ganondorf would have his head?

"I will let you go as you will," the woman smiled, "and mayhaps let you stay with me."

That convinced Link to at least try. He eyed his pursuers, "So if I see this friend of yours... I can live with you?"

The woman nodded.

Link asked, "Why? Do I need to send a message?"

"Tell her..." the old woman smiled sweetly, "He has come back."

...

Link had amazingly little trouble finding where he was going. He merely had to raise his hand and anyone would direct him with a surprised nod. In a sweet bonus he even threw off his pursuers when he mentioned he might've been followed, and was able to withdraw his hood (although a few guards insisted he do so). The doors were large and ornate, which made Link wonder what exactly the woman was, and who her companion was, as well.

He opened them to realize that this companion was royalty.

Sitting on a small throne beneath a large triangle of stained glass tales was a girl. Her hair was gold, her eyes were blue, skin fair and clothing ornate, refined, graceful. A tiara of golden leaves sat in her hair, letting only a swish of it rest above her eyes and none in front of her long ears. Simple earrings- golden triangles and nothing more -dangled from them. The advisers and messengers around her halted, staring at Link, a dirty, dingy, commoner, unannounced.

Chaos ensued, everyone scrambling and yelling things like "How dare you come to Her Highness so flippantly unannounced!" at Link before he could even explain himself. Link backed up with his words choked and clinging to his throat with fear as the angry men (and occasional woman) rallied to throw him out. Probably out a _window_, actually.

And then the girl raised her hand. Quiet and harmony was restored in an instantaneous ripple. She then quietly waved it and the ensemble grumbled as their footsteps sullenly went out. One man grabbed Link's arm roughly, "Ruffian, you're supposed to-"

"The boy stays. I wish to talk with him alone."

Link finally heard the girl's voice. It was commanding, like it was meant to be there and law was established the moment the words entered the air. But it was also soft, and sprang from her throat with purpose, kindness, and compassion. Link felt himself longing for a desert spring at the sound her voice, even if it was now mere echoes in the marble hall.

The doors sealed them within the tomb of silence, drowning out any other sound with their closing. Link stared at the girl, and the girl stared back with wide blue eyes. Eyes that begged and screamed with heavy burdens and a great destiny in her future, possibly too near. Eyes that Link suddenly recognized. The girl, the one from that raid all those years ago, was the Princess of Hyrule (then, or still, he didn't know yet).

She stood from the small and simple throne, continuing to examine him, "So... It's you." Link admired her careful and balanced strides. Like she was walking on air with no dip in her posture or height. "The boy... The _Hylian_ boy in the desert."

Link felt offended. So what if he was Hylian? She singled him out from his family, his friends, his community, as if he was anything better. It was clear enough from the way "Hylian" sprang from her lips that she saw him as something superior to them and not one of their number.

Still, once again his mouth sealed itself shut. He had no reason to talk with her other than the message; now- when she could punish him however she wished -wasn't the time to be the delivery boy.

The princess held a hand to her breast, "I've been..." She paused as if deciding her words again like a cautious editor, "You never did get my name, did you?"

Link said nothing.

She chuckled, "You didn't talk either." She smiled and held out her hand, "I'm Zelda." The introductory gesture seemed cold from so far away. As if she was scared of edging into dangerous territory. Link turned his left side away from her slightly. He swore to the Sand Goddess if she was after his stupid birthmark too...

"I suppose you're unaccustomed to a typical Hylian gesture of welcome." Zelda said with a frown. Her cheeks became roses as she dared to walk a little nearer, "I suppose it also works better if you're closer. I apologize, no one ever gets close enough to me to do it properly; descended from the gods and all that."

Link scoffed. They really believed that?

To his surprise, Zelda wasn't offended, "It must sound ridiculous to you. It's clear to me you weren't raised in Hyrule." Suddenly her careful pace did a complete 180, and her head raised itself to the stained glass above, "I suppose I need to tell you why my nanny, Impa, thought you should seek me out." Link followed her gaze and took another look that the glass, admiring how beautiful, but fragile, it was. Hylians certainly did the arts better.

Zelda began explaining the legend above their heads. She started with the top- an image that repeated the three triangle layout with the center white and gold, bottom right green with a golden triangle inside, repeated on the bottom left and top with blue and red encapsulating their own pieces. So the Triforce was three pieces, of three virtues Zelda explained as Courage (green), Wisdom (blue), and Power (red).

Then she wandered down to the bottom left of the stained glass as a whole. A dark, sharp monster carved out of ebony and violet glass reached for a shining image of the whole Triforce. Smoky tendrils reached beyond the monster's corner and into the center, and almost strangled two figures against a golden background.

The final image in the lower right wasn't of note; just denouement as balance was restored to the land. Link didn't see that, though. He felt his breath stop in the center image. On the right was a princess holding arrows that shone in their own circle of light, but on the girl's left...

On the left was a boy clothed in green that looked almost identical to him. Link continued staring at his twin in glass. NO. No no no no no. That wasn't him. This wasn't his destiny this country- t-this princess! T-they were all crazy-

Link heard the vaguest drone from his left hand. Something warm seemed to emanate from it. He tore his eyes from the glass to inspect it, but found Zelda inches from him. She was startled by the sudden movement, and once again the two stared at each other in some nameless contest. Link almost hated her eyes- wide and piercing. Something uncannily... _old_ and _ancient_ in them that clashed with her youthful face of what Link surmised was merely fifteen.

She reached for him and Link took a step back. He almost felt his hand vibrating uncontrollably when her touch neared. Zelda withdrew her hand, but she held up her right and began rubbing it while admiring... Link hoped that was the glint of gold jewelry, "Impa was right... It's you."

Link held up his left in proximity to Zelda's right hand.

Both of them swelled into a loud (but not unpleasant) drone.

Both of them held the glowing image of the holy relic known as the Triforce. Wisdom for Zelda, and Courage for Link.

Link couldn't keep his stoic mask up. He panicked.

"WHAT?! NO! NO NO NO! NO I-I'M NOT-" He looked at Zelda, who seemed to be experiencing time in a slower flow; reacting, but just barely, "I-I'm not- t-this isn't-!" He held up his hand, "WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!"

It wasn't true. He wasn't a hero who protected the Triforce. The Triforce wasn't even _real!_ What was he doing with the piece of Courage?! It was a sick, sick joke. The princess was joking with him. His hands shook with anger born of fear, reaching and clawing for Zelda but not daring to graze her skin, "Answer me, Zelda!"

Zelda bowed her head and took a step back, "I've told you. You're the spirit of the Hero of Legend reborn."

The Hero of Legend.

The Hero Who Protects the Triforce.

Different name.

Same fate.

* * *

(whoopsie my KH is showing)


	4. Chapter 4: Escape

Link's anger had fired his soul into a hollow urn of despair. He couldn't do anything but stare at Zelda as if she had just betrayed him. It was true. Ganondorf was right. He was some sort of reincarnation of some greater hero.

But he didn't want this. He just wanted to lay low and let the Gerudo chief come to his senses. He wanted to go home and live out his life peacefully. He wasn't a hero anyways. It was just this myth that glowed on his hand, not real, not proof, of course it wasn't proof it was superstitious nonsense-

"D-don't you feel honored?" Zelda's voice stuttered. As if she was really surprised that Link didn't want to bear this legendary burden.

"Honored?" Link asked, "_Honored?!_" He threw his hands in the air, "What in the names of the stars makes you think I'm _HONORED?!_"

Zelda backed away, biting her lip. She had no answer, "I-I just thought..." She held out her hands, pleading, "B-but you're a hero! You get to save this land and be forever honored in legend-"

"It was THIS that tore me from my home!" Link yelled at her, waving his mark of destiny around, "THIS that made me lose everything I had! THIS that took my right hand and almost KILLED ME!"

Zelda seemed to still be at a loss, staring numbly at Link's right hand. Link held it up, cupping it because he couldn't do any more than that, "You wanna see my proof? You got a cripple for a hero!"

Link turned from her, tired of her cowed silence and her terrorized gaze. He made a few more frustrated noises, unsure of what to actually say. His gut screamed that Ganondorf was this nameless evil he would have to defeat. He would have to turn against his tribe, his chief, everything he had known. He'd be a traitor to his home and a savior to a country who didn't care about him until he was needed.

One foot walked in front of the other, and then one foot ran in front of the other. Soon Link was bursting out the doors of the throne room and running through Hyrule Castle with Zelda yelling at the guards to stop him. Her shoes sounded like dainty bells as she ran after Link, calling his name and begging him to let her try and remedy his fate. As if she could find another to take his place or coax him into willingness.

But Link kept running. It was easy enough from him to perceive how to avoid the guards. He twisted arms, ducked between legs and tripped them, anything to get his single-minded desire to run from his destiny satisfied. He skidded around a corner and found himself trapped. Link glanced at a window and quickly judged the distance to the ground.

He jumped out.

...

Link didn't exactly know how long he ran after that, nor how long people were following him. He managed to disperse any damage When he got outside the gates he stumbled for a few more feet before sticking his fingers in his mouth and screeching those same six notes of the same three. He waited. He couldn't run forever, and Malon said Epona could be his any time, right?

Just over a nearby hill the Clydesdale horse galloped to his side. He ran up to her and hopped on in one seamless movement, clinging to the snowy mane and whispering, "Epona, just take me away from here. Far, far away."

The horse seemed to understand the pain in Link's voice and began running at breakneck speed to... well, Link didn't care where. Link's ears were filled with only the howl of the wind as time seemed to stop with the sun shining bright at a future that was everything but.

He'd go back to Malon and Lon Lon Ranch.

Yes, that's what he'd do.

He'd go back when Ganondorf realized what he was doing and what he was pursuing was pointless. Until then he'd just be an ordinary Hylian. Just ordinary. No hero. No vanquishing evil. Just Link. Link and his horses. He'd settle down. For the rest of his life if he'd have to.

Epona suddenly lurched. Link looked around to realize the sun had fallen, and now he was faced with the nightmarish sight of... what had Malon called them? Stalchildren? They were nothing but sharp, mean bone that scratched at rider and horse and intended to drag them both down into their wretched home.

Link spurred the skittish horse on, bolting through the night to escape this new danger. "Forward, just forward!" Link yelled when he heard pursuit behind them, "You can go, Epona! You can do it!"

Suddenly, Epona's hooves became unsteady and she swayed with a screeching bray and rearing to turn completely around. Link desperately tried to hold on, "Epona! Epona calm down!" His fingers began either slipping in her mane or getting painfully caught in tangles.

He looked back, realizing that Epona almost ran off a cliff. The hole that made it was pretty well hidden. He urged the horse on as she began trying to get her weight onto firmer ground, "Come on, Epona, come on, good girl you can get us out-"

And then his fingers didn't feel horse-hair.

Then there was weightlessness.

Then...?

Nothing.

...

"_Mama! Mama look!"_

_Ma're brushed aside the bead curtain door to see Link proudly wearing a smear of black across his eyes, "I'm just like you! I'm ready to go into the desert and keep us safe!"_

_Ma're sighed with a laugh and scooped Link into her arms, "You're so young, though!"_

"_You're young too!" Link replied._

_His mother only shook her head and began wiping up the glare-reducing paste, "But compared to you, I am much older, much wiser." _

_Link pouted, but didn't seem to disagree with his mother either. She held him up and pointed at the man addressing a problem with reasonable judgement, "And he is wiser and older than both of us. That is why Lord Ganondorf is the chief."_

_The business was apparently resolved, because Ganondorf had left and was heading their way. Ma're set Link down and bowed, "Lord Ganondorf."_

_Link copied her, "Lord G'nin'orf." He smiled up when the chief laughed._

_Ma're only scolded Link, "Link, please, show respect-"_

"_It's fine, Ma're, be at ease." Link felt a shudder pass. Ganondorf's voice was much deeper than he'd ever heard, and he liked it. Like the thunder before rain. His head dipped when Ganondorf rubbed it, "He is young. He will learn to say it properly in time."_

_Link nodded, and tried again, "Lord Gan'dorf."_

_Ganondorf left to resume his chiefly duties with a smile, "See? He already improves."_

...

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

That was what Link felt first. Droplets on his head and their steady patter echoing elsewhere. His clothes had the barest soak of moisture. No, no he was lying in a puddle of water. He wanted to open his eyes, but they wouldn't. Sleep, they insisted, sleep on.

So he moved on and sat up instead. He held a hand to his head, wondering what the ache was. He felt the back, and knew he'd hit it pretty hard; there was dried blood on clumps of hair. His eyes finally complied to open, and he looked up to follow the light. He could see the moon through the hole, but mostly there was darkness around him. Definitely not coming out the way he came in.

He stopped looking at the moon. Link needed his eyes to adjust to the darkness if he was going to get out. There had to be a door elsewhere; there was tile on the floor. Human made. This wasn't just some kind of sinkhole that spontaneously happened. There had to be another door, another way out.

Link began standing, but almost fell over with a howl. He looked at his foot. Not broken, but sprained badly enough to be a problem. He looked around for a wall, then found one and managed to shuffle to it. Leaning against it would be annoying, and would make things difficult, but at least he'd have better movement.

He gave the room one more look over, then followed the wall to a door. Link looked back at the moon one more time before delving deeper to find another way out. The place, now that Link's senses were on high alert, smelled damp and old. Link's fingers kept drumming over grooves and smooth stretches, leading him to presume there was mosaics on the wall. He still couldn't see well at all, so how could he know?

The wall stopped, coming to another large room. Link rounded the corner, but almost slipped. There wasn't any ground, his feet were now barely on the ledge. His hand grabbed what felt like a candelabra, and then it slid down the wall with a deep "_shunk_".

One torch flared into life, followed by another and another until Link was caught staring in precarious, slack-jawed amazement at the glittering hall. The tiles were full of precious materials, from gold to copper and rubies to diamonds, all carefully carved into their own glittering frescoes.

He managed to get back on his good foot, seeing that he slipped because the stairway was missing some of it's landing. He then cautiously slid down the remaining railing to the ground floor (or was it sub level 2, in relation to the surface?) and looked for an exit there.

Grand sealed doors, torches illuminating some Hylian mythology. An eye above the doors seemed to observe him for sin (or valor or something else Link couldn't place), and the walls twinkled with what looked like beings of ruby, emerald, and sapphire creating the lands. Nothing useful. Not to him. Maybe a cobweb or two if he was really stretching it.

Link looked back up, noting that the way he'd came had a glow of torches, too. Perhaps he'd turned all of them on through some mechanism or magic? He began hobbling back up the stairs; if there was torchlight everywhere, he could get another look at his arrival point. It didn't hurt to double check.

He slipped and hurt his bad foot some more, but the pain was becoming a dull, almost unnoticeable throb. If anything it'd be hard to walk on it for a few more days. Link looked around the chamber, and noticed rubble reaching for the hole he'd come from. He could climb it... if his foot was better. He didn't even recall how it'd been hurt. Maybe it was jumping out that window and he just now noticed...

Water from years- centuries -of rain was dripping through cracks in the roof. That was the source of the puddles strewn about the room like he was a small creature observing a small spill. Link then saw something flickering in the torchlight. Something in the rubble. He drew closer, but slipped and fell flat on his face.

While he cursed at the gods for his misfortune, his hand clawed out and managed to brush away the dirt. Polished wood, varnish still shining as if a day hadn't passed. Golden edging on top of that. A keyhole that guarded what lay within. Link sat down cross-legged and pulled the small chest out. He tested the lid, and it opened with the lock remaining unlocked. Link worried nothing was inside it until he realized the cloth was something much better.

He pulled out a sling with a confident grin. A bag was nestled in it, filled with- Link scoffed here -precious stones perfect for throwing. Pricey ammunition but ammunition worth having when there was nothing. He then went through the rubble and collected stones until he had 25 shots altogether. 10 gems and 15 stones. He'd keep the gems for when he knew he could get them back, since they were pre-cut to be better throws than an uneven rock. Perhaps even a little harder than the stones he'd collected.

Link then got back up and shuffled through the place again. He finally put it through his head that this place was a temple, abandoned by time. His starting point was filled with murals of Hyrule. The hallway between the two rooms he knew of were decorated with the Legendary Hero. So the most sacred place- Link presumed -must have been behind the sealed doors in what he labeled "Room of Creation".

He paused in front of the doors once more, puzzling over how they would open. He pressed in gems for switches, running his hands along the walls like a blind man. There seemed to be no pressure plates in the floor. Link slumped on the stairs, wondering if he could end up living here. The water was good and ground filtered. Animals could fall in for meals. Yes, it wouldn't be glamorous, but he could live here.

Absently he took out a stone and swung it against the wall. It clattered back and he picked it up and swung it again. Link repeated this like a madman's creed.

CLACK, skitter skitter... CLACK, skitter skitter... CLACK, skitter skitter... CLACK, skitter skitter...

Link figured he'd amuse himself with profanity towards Hyrule's gods. He tossed a stone at that omnipresent eye in an act of blasphemy none would witness except the gods. Maybe Link would be lucky and he'd be killed by one of them before his head could fuss over living as a wanted man by both Gerudo and Hylian.

To his surprise the eye sank into the wall with the smallest hiss, and the doors grinded open. Link stood, tripped, then rose back to his feet. There was more to explore, and perhaps a way out with it. He almost ran in, but he curbed his enthusiasm by hiding behind one door and looking in. Link then strode right in when he realized it was an empty room. He paused in the center, wondering what the new sound was in his ears. It was too dry to be running water, too soft, too consistent.

Link looked up at a glowing set of eight eyes.

He jumped away out of pure instinct and ended up falling when his foot didn't support him right. The spider- far larger than any normal spider, of course -fell down onto Link's level with a dry crack of its mandibles. Link let out a nervous laugh; perhaps it was saying "mmm, lunch".

He tried standing again, but he couldn't get the right leverage to do so. He couldn't get onto his feet without crippling pain. He pulled out his sling, already feeling a few wisps of some kind of mucus.

The spider was just about on top of him. Link took as careful aim as he could, swung, and rolled away between the arachnid's legs. There was a screech, and Link knew he hit it where he wanted to: the eyes. Or maybe an eye.

Link checked his ammo, knowing he'd used a gem. It was far too smooth to be a rock; he'd just grabbed something and threw it so of course he didn't have the care. He turned back to see that one of the eyes had gone out, and he quickly grabbed another to defend his poor vantage point.

What was he tossing? Did they hit and, if so, what? Link just wanted the thing squished. He'd only been more terrified when he fled from his home. Soon the spider was down to one eye, and Link was crawling among muck that he figured was spider blood. It was thicker than water, but not as thick as his own blood. More like mucus. Maybe drool, if spiders really did that. They'd always been too small for Link to bother observing.

Link grabbed one more stone and began swinging it around. The spider was slinking through the shadows so much easier now that only one eye pierced the dark. Link listened for the clicks of its joints and mouth, but found nothing but echoing dust time after time. Occasionally a leg would knock him to the ground, winded for just a few moments.

And then, with Link huddled against the wall for dear life, that eye was right next him his face. It illuminated two pincers at his neck.

Link did what any cornered person would do. He yelled and punched right through the eye. Disgusting- it was like punching through mud, except there was more resistance and some sort of fluid retaliated and drenched him -but it worked. What else was he supposed to do?

The arachnid howled with rage and despair, and Link pulled his hand out of the gooey mess to scramble to his feet back against the wall so he wouldn't be pinned when the massive weight fell to the floor.

The beast twitched once. Twice. It was dead. Some webbing fell away and exposed moonlight. Link sighed and sat back down. His leg throbbed with pain up to his knee and even past it. He then noticed... something was clenched in his fist. He didn't recall ever grabbing anything, but his mind was still addled by adrenaline. He looked at his hand, and opened it.

A small ruby heart encompassed by golden filigree sat there, innocent, but wet from bodily fluids of some kind. And then slowly it glowed and melded into his hand, and Link felt warmth spread through him. The ache in his leg was gone.

Link curled up, observing the corpse of the spider he just killed. He felt... Alive? Safe? Like he just did something amazing. But it was hollow, of a sorts. His mind was running rampant, trying to get him back to his composed self.

He drank in the silence after the frantic encounter, pulling out a diamond and watching the rays and rainbows it refracted into the spider husk with eight bloody eyes.

* * *

Oooo dungeon one complete! Not very big, although there is something big in the future... Deus Ex Machina big ;)


	5. Chapter 5: Metamorphosis

Link had been in his trance for... well, it was a long time. Once again time seemed to stop bend to his will. He stared at the play of light from the diamond sphere onto the desecrated mess of exoskeleton and limbs and blood that had been steadily dissolving as if he was staring miles away or into the future. His eyes were unfocused and glazed.

"Your soul is so strong, so courageous as always... How, oh _how_, does it maintain it's will?" Link blinked. His muscles tensed. He looked for the source of the voice as he tried to discern who could say it. It was old, but young. Whispery like the wind but clearly understood. Like a mother's lullaby reaching for you at the edge of dreams.

Something grinded against another; the sound of stone shifting against stone. Link stood, arming his sling, "W-who's there?!"

"But I should know," more grinding, but it was soft, balanced, careful, even graceful. A cold marble statue- a woman, young and beautiful with flowers in her cropped hair with motherly curves -stepped into the moonlight, "I did forge your courageous and gentle soul many eons ago..." The statue held a hand- one with a single golden bangle -to its breast, "Hylia made it eternal, but I fashioned it from my courage, kindness, and the ever persisting rhythm of life. I tempered it to be stronger than any mortal steel."

While the statue crooned over Link like he was a toy she'd made so long ago, he was staring at her. But her lips didn't match what she said. He finally seemed to register the whispering drone of an unknown language. What was this sorcery? Who was this who claimed to have made his soul?

"Sister," there was a different grinding from elsewhere, and another stepped into the light. Her hair was long and loose, but to clash with it her dress hid her curves, leaving her flat looking; a choker of gold covered her shoulders alongside her wrists clamped in the metal like manacles. "You do forget he has such a potential for wisdom."

"And you both forget," Link just about had a heart attack; he knew the hourglass figure and seducing sways of step and the high ponytail of this new statue, "that the boy has enough power to always defeat my corrupted piece." Golden braces were on both of her wrists, but Link didn't care.

He dropped to the ground, "Goddess of the Sands!"

The woman of marble looked at her sisters, smug, "And this time he has been raised as my own."

The first statue made an angry grinding noise as her hands clenched shut- well, one didn't because it was holding a sculpted flower, "_Sister_," the honeyed word was laced with annoyed venom, "you neglect the fact that the boy is under _my_ charge."

Link scrambled back with a cry when his crest of the Triforce almost blinded him with an angry drone. He wondered if his hand had caught fire.

"Enough, both of you." the long haired woman snapped. Her pupiless eyes furrowed with anger, then slowly her head turned to Link with a softer look, "You're scaring the only hope we have."

Link then noticed all three statues had converged on him, cold white with only gold to accompany it. He only bowed his head and muttered prayers as they began deliberating and arguing about something he was purposefully ignoring. No, no please this wasn't happening. No he wasn't being visited by goddesses that didn't exist. This was a dream, a hallucination.

"Link, hero chosen by the gods, stand at least." the first statue commanded. Link did so, but stared at his feet. If there was any word to describe his state of mind it would be "nope".

"Desert child, look at me." Link complied to the Sand Goddess's will and watched her. The other two were just trickery.

She shook her head, her voice soft and chastising, "We are all very much real." She bent down to Link as if addressing a child, "And my true name-" Link covered his ears and rapidly shook his head. He wasn't supposed to know that. He hadn't gone through the proper rites. He wasn't even a part of the clergy for her sake! The information was far too sacred for his ears. He wondered if the rumors were true. If he'd go deaf if he even just barely heard it.

But he heard it anyways, like a hollow ring in his skull, a voice in his very mind, "is Din. Goddess of Power, the Desert and Mountains, Fire, and Fate."

The other two statues agreed proper introduction was needed, and exchanged their own titles:

"I am Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, the Lakes and Rivers, Water, and Law."

"I am Farore, Goddess of Courage, the Forest and Plains, Wind, and Life."

Link uncovered his ears. Water dripped somewhere. A piece of rubble finally fell. Not deaf. He wasn't burning to death on the spot either. His stomach burned with shame and his cheeks felt hot, but that was it.

Din seemed to still be staring at him; it was hard to tell if she was without pupils carved into her eyes, "See? You are safe from harm."

The first statue- Farore -spoke up, "Quit talking to him like he's yours. You know very well the piece that dwells within him is mine."

Din stood tall again, "Farore, dear, he is comfortable with me."

The long haired one- Nayru -once again stopped the struggle, "Farore, Din is not trying to change his destiny, nor steal the Triforce of Courage. She is talking to him because she feels he is most comfortable with her." Nayru trained her stony gaze upon Link, "Is that not so, hero?"

Link nodded, but then mumbled, "I-I'm not-"

"You are," Nayru coldly cut him off, "It was preordained long, long ago, when the Kingdom of Hyrule was nonexistent and the land that would become it was only a few millenia." She held up her hands as if it was a fussy child she was talking about, "Hylia's struggle with the Demon King Demise required a champion to be reborn eternally alongside his curse of hatred."

"That reborn hero, would be you." Farore helpfully explained, "You are the soul Hylia made eternal so long ago to rise again when Hyrule needs it most."

Link bit his tongue. These were goddesses he was talking to. His hands turned to fists, then they trembled, and finally he said firmly, "I don't... I don't want to be the hero."

There was the same stunned silence Zelda had given him. As if the idea of him rejecting this fate was ridiculous and had never been done before. Link only stared at his muddied boots now. This was it. Smote for sure by divine wrath. Then someone else could do it.

"Then Hyrule shall burn."

Link's head snapped up to see the goddesses watching each other. "If he is unwilling, our creation has finally fallen." Nayru said dismally.

"But it can't end yet." Farore insisted. She glared at Din with a shriek, "This is all your fault! If he wasn't raised with-"

"We just need to add his family into that observation, Nayru." Din cooly replied. She looked at Link, "If you don't save Hyrule, you cannot save yourself, and you can never return Saran's kindness. All of our creation- Hyrule and all of our precious desert -will be ruined, because you refused to find peace." From Nayru and Farore, the words were meaningless. From Din? Link felt crushed with guilt and blame.

Link watched Farore wave a hand, and doors he hadn't seen opened, "I take it your mind has changed, hero?" Awaiting him was a single pedestal, and upon it was deep green cloth and leather trappings.

Link saw no point in resisting any longer. His stomach- no, his entire body -felt like a hollow vessel awaiting his duty. Link took a step towards the green cloth, "I suppose... I can..." His words kept sticking to his throat as if it was coated in glue, "I can wait no longer for my destiny to change. It... It won't."

Link nodded again, except this time it was sluggish and absent. "I know now that it won't." He picked up the cloth, and found out it was a tunic. The hem was done in a vaguely different shade of green, and the leather belts were for holding a sword, a shield, and the like. There was also chainmail, for protection. Link stared at the new clothes, "It won't."

Farore nodded, and her arms drifted around the air to form a pseudo-hug, "Change is good. It adapts and grows to be better than before. This place- this hallowed ground known eons ago as the Temple of Time -is one of metamorphosis, desert child."

She backed away, and the three statues nodded. Their voices rang together in chorus, and Link stopped. "Three pearls we have left,"

Nayru's voice was cold and clear, "Three pearls you must seek,"

Din lamented, "Three tribes all bereft,"

Farore added, "For you to replace what's unique,"

The cycle repeated:

"One in the deepest waters,"

"One in the mountains high,"

"One where nature always wanders,"

There was a pause before the statues spoke together once more, "Your reward, where people never die."

When the ominous prophecy faded, Link noticed that something in the air calmed. The statues halted in their poses, mouths open as if to sing. Farore still seemed to reach out gracefully to hug Link. Nayru was reaching for his shoulders as if to whisper the secrets of the universe into his ear. Din held out her hands like strings were attached to Link, her darling puppet.

Most of all, Link realized he was alone again.

...

A youth clad in green scrambled out of the rubble, then stood back on the solid plain of Hyrule Field. He adjusted his cap again, worried it would fall off, and brushed off the cobwebs and dust. His eyes blearily blinked at the sunrise.

Link put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled sharply for Epona.

Moments later, he was solemnly on his way back to Lon Lon Ranch.

Exactly where he had stood, was a small effigy of a boy his age dressed in blue.

* * *

And now Link is... well, more Link-y. And hey we know what he's gonna do now! Standard three coupons and then something like the master sword or whatevs.


	6. Chapter 6: Lake Hylia

"Oh I can't believe those silly townsfolk." Malon sighed as she thoroughly brushed Epona's hair for the hundredth time since she began ranting and raving to Link's pensive silence, "Think MY horse- my precious little gem of a horse -ran off with some rapscallion wanted by the princess." There wasn't any snags at all now- there hadn't been for hours -but Malon still brushed and brushed and brushed with a huff, "Epona wouldn't even dream of running away," she looked at the horse, "now would you?"

Epona snorted. Malon took it for a "_no I wouldn't"_ instead of "_can you stop that now?"_ and continued, "I mean, she just about _bolted_ the middle of the day yesterday- jumped clear over her fence and every other like she was running from a wildfire, mind you -and I didn't see her again until later that night," Malon then began lamenting a recount of what she had been greeted with this morning, "_**but**_ 'no siree Mr. Guard my horse was _not_ holding a wanted man', 'she's being borrowed by a friend of mine sir', 'I don't know what in the blazes you're talkin' about, _sir_'!"

Link shrugged, "I don't think he was in trouble..."

Malon shrugged back, "They said the princess herself wanted him so I figure he's done somethin' bad." She noted the water trough was getting low and left to snag some more water, "Suppose I'll hear about it at the market."

While Malon whistled away, Link and Epona shared a treasure of a glance. Link raised his eyebrow. Epona snorted his hair up, grabbed the hem of his hat and began chewing on it. Link grabbed it back from her, "Hey now! That's...s" he felt conflicted about saying "sacred" and opted to instead say, "special."

Malon came tromping back in, "... And can you believe the nerve of him to think that just because we're hospitable we're a place for fugitives to hide!" She sloshed in the water with another frustrated sigh. She looked for Link and saw the tail of his horse-spit imbued hat swaying as he brushed the coat of a different horse.

Malon sauntered up to him and watched him for a moment. Link seemed to not really be focusing on his brushing, and his gaze kept wandering, glazed over and distant. She touched his hand over the brush, "You alright?"

Link whirled, the whites of his eyes almost the only thing Malon could see for a brief moment. He then looked away while his gaze became vacant and cow-like, "S-sorry... you scared me."

Malon flipped his hat around into his face, "Sorry back." She laughed as Link rearranged his hat with the most amusing expression. She then picked up where his brushing left off, "You gotta brush with the coat."

"I know that," Link mumbled. He rubbed the horse's muzzle, "I'm sorry. Not thinking straight today..." The horse did the same as Epona and began eating at Link's hat. Link wrenched it away, "Will you quit that?" Malon giggled. Link couldn't help but chuckle himself. Link backed away and leaned against the opposite stall, returning his mind to whatever other things he was thinking about.

Malon leaned next to him, "Nice clothes." She still didn't understand where he got them. The quality and styling was old, but definitely fancy. They couldn't've been bought anywhere recently, either. Not to mention the whole "clad in green" deal that made her stomach float with admiration.

It was about a minute later when Link said, "I guess they are." He fingered the hem of his tunic, revealing amazingly good quality chainmail beneath, "...guess they are."

Silence was not comfortable for Malon, "You know, you're being awfully quiet. A different quiet." She shrugged, "I know you're the quiet type- it's why I'm always talkin' around you. Quiet types are good listeners in exchange for not bein' good talkers... But you've definitely got somethin' else tangling your head in a knot."

Link didn't reply. He was staring at the water trough. Something clicked, and his mouth opened every so slightly, "Malon, where's the deepest water in Hyrule?"

Malon stood up and began pacing around, "Well, dunno about the _deepest_ water, but the biggest amount would be in Lake Hylia. About..." She looked out a window to see where the sun, "About south of here."

Link nodded. It was a lead, the best he had right now. He asked, "Can I borrow Epona again?"

Malon pulled out the flute Link had given her and played a few notes. She then smiled, "Well, you gave me this and I said you could use her as you pleased!" Link smiled.

He guided Epona out of her stall, "Well, I suppose I'm off, then."

Malon followed him out, "Where ya going?"

Link mounted Epona, "Lake Hylia. I was told to go there for a..." he hesitated before explaining, "job." He mounted Epona and waved goodbye, "I'll see ya in a few days!" With a yell, Link and Epona were no more than dust

...

Epona's hooves slowed from full gallop into a neat trot as the hard and beaten soil of the plains turned into looser, loamier dirt. Link got off with a smile lighting his face. Malon should've told him this was an _ocean_ of water. He'd never seen so much in his life!

He ran to the shore with a laugh, dipping his hands into the water and drinking it. Cold, clear, deliciously pristine. He waded in, surprised that he could. Oases were normally far too shallow to soak more than his boots, and now here he was waist-deep- with tons of room to continue -and surrounded by liquid. He stopped there, though. Link didn't know how to swim well, and with wearing chainmail that wasn't terribly good.

Link's fingers dipped into the water, and he even dared to back up and sit down in the slightly shallower section near the shore. His tunic was soaked already, and his teeth chattered ever so slightly. It was cold, and cold was amazing. Delicately his head hung down into the water, and delicately balance was maintained so that he floated there, watching the cloudy sky with everything but his face encased in the wonderful chill. Epona walked up to him and snorted in his bangs.

"Epona!" Link laughed. He sat back up and playfully nudged her. He stopped when he heard a splash. He looked out at the lake, his hand hovering to his sword- Oh wait. He didn't have one. He was using the wrong hand, too. Muscle memory wasn't going to do him good.

He stood as sloshed back through the water. His hands clumsily grabbed at his sling, and he loaded in a rock, "Who's there?" Of course, if it was a fish- he'd heard of fish before, just not seen one -talking was pointless. He didn't know how big fish were supposed to be, but the ripple on the surface of the water was definitely big. "I hope that it's not the _whole country_ trying to kill me..." Link couldn't help but mumble.

But it wasn't exactly a fish. Pale blue scales and fins came out of deeper water, followed by large, dark eyes that were furrowed in confusion. Then a jaw, exposing a face that was human enough if not for the blue scales part. And the eyes. The eyes were kinda creepy, actually. A few sapphires glittered among gold and silver and coral jewelry, arranged in such a way that it was haphazard, but continually twinkling and glinting in the light.

The thing then said something that sounded like gurgling water in a distinctly feminine voice.

"You can talk?" Link replied. The fish-girl babbled something back. A question, he supposed. He caught something that sounded like a garbled "Hylian". Link held up his hands to his chest. His voice was slow and clear, "Yes, I'm Hylian. I speak Hylian."

"I knew that." The fish-girl splashed at the water with a pout, "I was trying to see if you spoke Zoran." This bit wasn't directed at Link, "Upstream dialect, to be specific, but I guess he's too stupid to understand it..."

"I heard that." Link quipped.

The fish-girl glared at him, "Excuse you!" She shook her head and babbled her little "Upstream dialect" a little more, treading water angrily. Probably curses. Link, in response to her rudeness, made a few light cursing gestures behind her back. He stopped when she turned and sneered, "What are you doing swimming anyways? It's too cold."

"Too cold?" Link laughed, "This is great!"

The fish-girl looked at him like he was crazy. "The mountain snow's melting and feeding the river this time of year." She said, "Ergo, the water's too cold for you land-dwelling Hylians. You'll get sick."

"Well, maybe I'm not like any 'land-dwelling Hylian' you've ever met." Link replied, "I like the water like this."

"Your lips are blue."

Link self-consciously looked at his reflection. Indeed they weren't red or rosy pink, they were a cold purplish blue that trembled. He looked at the fish-girl, "Are you doing that?"

"Oh, sure I am." She swam around a little more, her voice drawling and bitter, "Everyone knows Zoras can cast blue-lip curses." So she WAS Zoran. Link thought the aquatic peoples were legend. Still, he didn't do anything to deserve a curse!

"What did I do to you?!" Link asked back, "I'm just enjoying a swim!"

The Zora girl looked at him a little funnier now, "Are you new to Hyrule?" She dared to swim closer, "You must be. You're very different. Your clothes aren't exactly in style right now..." Link backed away as her eyes watched him intently- he suddenly realized they were silver with very large pupils. She tilted her head, a few hair-like fins waving, "Your skin's darker... Still fair but darker. And not to mention they're always harping about a hero clad in green."

Link's annoyance and mirth faded into somber denial. "I-I just like green. I'm not a hero I'm just..." He remembered what the goddesses told him, and he quickly said, "I'm actually a delivery boy. I-I need to pick up something in-" he hesitated, "Um, I was told 'the deepest of the waters'..."

The Zora girl's pupils narrowed, exposing more silver. She backed up into the waves, "That's not possible for someone like you. Who sent you?"

"Um... Important people." Link said, "What? Do you not trust me-"

"The deepest waters in Hyrule are in Zora's Domain." She snapped at him, "Always under water, very few dry pockets of air. You'd drown before we got halfway."

"You can take me then?" Link asked.

"If you have a death wish!" The Zora girl began swimming away, "You're crazy, goodbye!"

Link, however, felt that somehow there was a way she wasn't divulging, and began swimming after her, "Hey! I really need to do this! It's important!"

When the blue scales disappeared under the waves, Link did the same and dove after. Whether it was reckless tunnel vision or true courage that was his motivation to continue, he couldn't say. Soon his swimming became flailing as the chainmail tunic began weighing him down. Bubble after bubble flew past his gaze, flying away into the sunlight above that he desperately scrambled for. He coughed, his lungs unable to bear the weight of held breath.

Well, fantastic. Dying. He was dying. He could feel his eyes beginning to roll back, water in his lungs. Killed by the very thing he found himself desiring so often in his life, the irony.

Just as the foam cleared from his dimming vision, the Zora girl returned from the darkness of the lake like a phantom. She grabbed Link in one of her arms like he was a child and plucked off some glittering object. She held it in front of Link, offering it with frantic and angry bubbling.

Link blinked, letting go of his last gasps of air. His mind was filling into a vat of what surrounded him: still and without substance, but heavy. Link finally succumbed to unconsciousness, and the Zora girl tied the glittering object to loose strings on the front of his tunic with frustration.

Link's eyes opened with a sudden gasp and a rush of bubbles. He looked around, and began panicking and wheeling his arms through the water.

"Calm down, you won't drown!" The Zora girl said.

Link blew more and more bubbles, testing the water. Sucked in, sucked out. He was fine. He then watched silvery blue glinting around him as the Zora girl did one loop around him, then dove off, "Follow me, seaweed brain. I'll take you there, I guess I have no choice if you're gonna go and kill yourself over some paltry delivery."

Link smiled, and clumsily swam after her.

...

Link didn't know blues and greens could be so varied. Laced with purple and yellow and coral reds in a vibrant dance of life and color. All the while the Zora in front of him gracefully joined the rhythm with seamless movement. Link, meanwhile, wasn't as fluid. He bumped into rocks or creatures with a flurry of apologetic bubbles. It was clear he didn't belong in the water, but then again it could be ignored with his wondrous smiling and curiosity.

Something else that was becoming obvious to Link was how deep the water was. He felt pressure- it wasn't uncomfortable yet but it was there -around him and squeezing him. The oxygen he could now soak from the water seemed... sparse.

"Almost there." The Zora girl said, "Just be careful about the jellyfish we use as sentries."

Link gurgled something that sounded vaguely like "Jellyfish?!", but the Zora was already moving through the puffy, graceful forms. Link supposed they would at the very least hurt a bunch if she said "be careful."

He couldn't rein in his curiosity, though, when he saw them. Floating little blobs with dangling tentacles that looked like silken thread. He swam up to one and tapped the floating mass he supposed was the head, intending to pass on once he found out what it felt like. It felt... Well, it felt interesting enough for Link to pause and continue tapping it. Not quite solid, not quite liquid. These were fish? How intriguing.

Something wrapped around his leg. Link panicked, flailing and yelling bubbles. He kicked off the tentacle and swam away just as the jellyfish filled the water with a buzzing feeling that cracked and zapped in its form. Link stared in awe; this fish had learned how to become a thunder cloud! He recognized the white-hot flames of lightning that had now long dimmed. The Zora girl rolled her eyes, "That's why I said stay away."

Link swam backwards, still warily watching the jellyfish. That was too close for him. The water around him dimmed as he flailed into a cavern, and very quickly Link realized he was lost. He felt along the wall (again, he sighed to himself) and hoped that the occasional bubbling he called out clued the Zora girl in that he was falling behind.

And then the water swelled into beautiful iridescence before him. Mother-of-pearl and it's nacreous brethren shone along the walls in tabloids of ever shifting patterns. Coral had been left to its own organic shapes, but were polished and held up corridors that had more Zoran people darting in and out in metallic blurs of blue and green. Link swam up a bit when he thought he saw his guide, but found himself in the middle of the hall-like area, swimming stupidly with no idea of where to go.

Still, he smiled.

Link had arrived at the Zora's Domain.

* * *

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT I PROMISE THIS WILL UPDATE AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH.

but yeah dem sassy Zoras


	7. Chapter 7: The Deepest of the Waters

It took Link only moments of observation for him to discover that the opalescent designs in the walls were practical alongside beautiful. They denoted pathways and routes to take to other places among the domain, as he learned from seeing Zora after Zora moving purposefully along the pathways (or was it swimways?). He managed to follow some pale shimmering curves, deciding it was the best route to explore first.

He breached the surface of an empty room filled with humid and warm air. He swam over to an edge uncertainly, then pulled himself out of the water. He wondered what Zora did with an empty chamber of air like this as he scanned the meager crowd. He winced as droplets bounced on his hat and hair. Not that it made any difference- he was soaked from hours of swimming -but the pressure got annoying. Pat, pat pat, pat, pat pat.

He huffed when he didn't see his guide, "Where did she go?"

"Hey~! Hey you, Hylian boy!"

Link was approached by two more Zora girls. One had turquoise scales while the other was cyan and sky blue. The turquoise one was wearing all kinds of pale pink coral jewelry, while her bluer companion wore swaths of silver in a scarf. They both leaned their finned elbows against the edge of the pool with grins, "Who's the lucky Zora?"

Link leaned back a little, "Um, excuse me?"

The turquoise one introduced herself and her companion, "I'm sorry! My name's Lulu and this is my twin Retau!" Lulu pranced her fingers closer to Link's, "So, as I asked, who's the lucky Zora who snagged a handsome guy like you?"

Link smiled, but it was bewildered, "Um, what do you mean? I-I'm not in any kind of relationship-"

"The scale! Where'd ya get the scale?" Retau asked.

Link shook his head, "What scale?"

Lulu reached for his neck, "There!" Link leaned back some more and mirrored Lulu's gesture to shield his neck. He ended up finding a pale silver scale tied to his shirt collar. He tugged it off with a confused frown while the Zora twins sighed and tittered, "Oh, so romantic..." Link wasn't paying attention, instead admiring the curve and iridescence of the scale. So that's what she gave him to help him breathe. Of course, he also wondered how he was gonna get the thing back on-

"Here!" Retau handed Link a pouch made from tight and intricate netting, "We make these specifically for scales!"

Into the bag the scale went, and handily the drawstring became a necklace that Link could tuck into the front of his tunic, "Thank you, Retau." He then asked, "But why are you two fawning-"

"Don't you know?" Lulu asked.

"Lulu, I wanna tell him the story! You did it last time to some shmuck at Lake Hylia!" Retau whined. When Lulu sighed and conceded, Retau began explaining, "See, a long time ago a Zora princess fell in love with a Hylian prince, but they were forever doomed to be parted by the water. He walked on land while she walked among sea, the two forever in love but forever apart. So what she did was she made him a necklace out of her scales-"

Link interjected with a quiet, "Um...?" there but Retau didn't notice and continued on.

"and she gave it to him for her to be remembered by. So the whole kingdom now knew that the Prince had a special someone under the waves of the lake." Retau sighed, "Romantic, right?" Link shrugged, and the Zora kicked her flippers dazedly while she rambled off again, "But see, the Prince had a dastardly uncle who was in line for ruling behind the prince." Her voice dropped to a scandalous whisper as she leaned in, "And so do you know what he did? He took the prince and _drowned_ him!"

"That's decidedly not romantic." Link quipped.

"Oh but I'm getting to the best part! You silly boy!" Retau giggled, "After the princess mourned him she appealed to the gods so that nothing like this would ever happen again, and so from that day forth Zora scales have been able to let Hylians breathe water like we do."

Her scales became a deep indigo as she fiddled with some silver gauze, "They've been also used as Zora engagement rings, of a sort. Among Zora it's a piece of each other and among inter-specie romance it allows them to live together-"

"_**E-engagement ring?!**_" Link cried. He felt the blood rushing from his face. What mess did he get into?! Married to a Zora he just met?! His hand slid down his cheek as he pondered the prospect of being married to a different species, and not a particularly friendly member at that.

Lulu ignored his panic, "Yeah. Lucky you!" She asked, "Who proposed?"

Link's voice rose in incredulous annoyance, "I-I was _drowning_-!"

"Ah!" Retau squealed, "You tried killing yourself?! She must've been watching you for a long time and wanted to save you! Oh, that's got such a wonderful fairy tale feeling!" While Link spluttered in disbelief to himself, Retau and Lulu gossiped, "Oh gosh he was suicidal and she saved him!"

"I know! It's so adorable!"

"Wait until everyone else hears!"

Link reached after them when they splashed off. He was left there with his mouth open wide in shock. His hand fell into the water with a splash, followed by him falling face first into the other. "What have I done..." He moaned. Those two were probably going to gossip over the entire domain about the "poor suicidal Hylian looking for his fiancée".

After another particularly deep sigh, Link slipped back into the water. Before diving in, he asked a Zora about the walls to confirm his hunch. He found out that he was correct, and even got better directions: Coral was dorms, white Mother-of-pearl lead to air rooms (turns out even fish-people needed fresh air every now and then), Silver lead to Zora's River or back to the central domain depending on the route, Gold to the throne room of the Zoran Royal Family, and black Mother-of-pearl lead to Lord Jabu-Jabu's fountain.

"Lord Jabu-Jabu?" Link asked.

"Our patron deity." The Zora explained, "His Lordship created the waters and gave the fish that became Zora sentience. We owe much to him." With a polite nod, the Zora splashed away, "Good luck finding your beloved."

"SHE ISN'T MY-" Link began yelling before he faltered at the spotlight shone upon him. He dove, following silver with a grumpy burst of bubbles. He finished his rant in his head, his expression pouting while he wondered where to look next. He skimmed through the dorms, and swam to the river before finding it was a rare place for Zora to go. They wouldn't let him go to Jabu-Jabu's fountain, either. That was three ways down, and there was too many air rooms for Link to search.

He skimmed along the gold. Maybe he could appeal to the royal family for a search. He didn't know if they needed an announcement or whatever, but went on along the gold ribbons in the walls. He was surprised that the tunnel began going upward, and then surfaced again with a gasp. With slight apprehension, Link climbed up onto the marble coated in a thin film of water, and began climbing the steps.

"One who seeks the counsel of King Zora Ebon-Ju approaches." Link jumped at the announcer, and picked at his ear after the resonating blast of some kind of horn. It was different than what he expected.

When he reached the end of the stairs, he found himself sitting behind a limestone and coral banister in a room lined with seashell and mother-of-pearl. Water flowed from the walls and into the floor, forming a basin that barely overflowed to cover Link's boots and fall down the stairs to flow into Zora's Domain and then onward to the rest of Hyrule. It also flowed from the throne holding three Zora; an average Zora who held a conch (probably the announcer), a portly Zora with a crown and an imposing, yet oddly endearing vestige...

And pouting next to the king was a very familiar Zora girl, the only difference being more jewelry, a tiara, and swaths of that same silvery material he saw earlier, except more than twice as much and some in shades of gold.

Link couldn't help himself, "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"You imply that you know Princess Raetalis?" The announcer asked.

Link blinked. Well, no wonder she was so haughty. He shook his head, but ended up shrugging, "I met her this afternoon-" Raetalis was glaring at him and making all kinds of death-threat gestures, "-and I almost ended up drowning because of it!"

"My princess does no such things!" The king exclaimed, "She does not partake in drowning young Hylians like those ruffians do!"

Link back pedaled, "I-I admittedly did it myself by not thinking before leaping but-"

"Young man you aren't making a very good case for yourself." King Ebon-Ju shook a finger at Link, "Coming in and accusing my sweet little girl like that."

Link took a deep breath and quickly stated his case before the situation got worse, "What I was going to say after that is that I was told to come find the deepest of the waters to look for a pearl!"

The hall fell silent. Link began clenching his right hand, but it still wouldn't close right. The left, however, did an excellent job of digging into the banister.

The king shifted on his throne, "Who sent you?"

"Someone important." Link answered. He started hugging himself, "I just gotta do it, okay? I'll go in, go out with the pearl, and I'll never bother you guys again-"

"The deepest of the waters is a very sacred place, Hylian." The announcer sneered. Link gritted his teeth. He was tired of being called that. He was so tired of being called Hylian.

He took a deep breath, and grimaced cordially, "I was told to do it-"

"By who?" The king asked. Link looked at his left hand. The Triforce was still burned into him like some kind of brand. Reluctantly he held it up. The king looked unamused, "And what is that supposed to be? A clue?"

Link asked back, "What can't you see it? It's clear as day on my hand-"

"I see your _gauntlet_." The king replied. "It's nice workmanship, but I fail to see how it divulges your employer." Link wondered how he couldn't see the triangles seared into it, but he sighed and wrenched off the leather.

The tiny court gasped and gaped in surprise at the crest on Link's hand while the young man himself scowled. The silence continued as Link irritably tugged his gauntlet back on, as if everyone was too awed by his presence to say anything. He even rolled his eyes a little; he was just like the rest, what made him so awe-inspiring?

Raetalis broke the silence, "You should've known from the green, daddy."

"You knew, didn't you?" Link countered. She shifted uncomfortably. Link demanded again, "You knew I needed to get here didn't you-"

"Well you were acting all insane!" She snapped, "That hero the royal family keeps harping on about is just MYTH! Legend!" An awkward pause followed while her father glared at her.

Link then rerouted the subject before her royal highness received a scolding to throw off her tiara, "Now, about me being special enough to go see Jabu-Jabu."

"LORD Jabu-Jabu," the announcer sniffed.

The king began scooting aside, "Well, I do believe you are worthy to see him." Link blinked as a passage was revealed, "Follow this way, Hero." The king settled down far away enough for Link to pass through, "You see, his lordship has been ill as of late. I worry if he will be alright if you see him."

Link climbed over the banister and began swimming over, "He'll be fine." His voice was tight. Ma're had died of illness. A plague. This damp haven probably gave a different disease, but Link felt his heart clench. He splashed into the route. Water consumed him. It left his mind blank and calmed him.

Sinking...

Sinking...

There was a quaver in the water. Link clenched his arms, hoping it was something friendly. "Just me, greenie." Link relaxed when Raetalis's voice bubbled through the water. The dark depths then glowed a gentle blue, "Here, you're probably terrified." Raetalis looked unreal in the pale light that seeped through dots along her arms and torso. Link shrugged; tense, but not terrified.

"Well, it'll be a bit longer." She gestured beneath them, "I tend to his lordship. Use this route all the time. It's a shortcut."

She looked at him, "So, you're new to Hyrule, but you're the hero." Her eyes narrowed, "Who are you?"

Link fiddled with his tunic with a bashful blub. He was losing that answer more and more. He was Link Uknir, a proud foundling of the desert, a Gerudo of foreign blood. A refugee from his family. Maybe an exiled member was a more accurate term. He closed his eyes, trying to feel the fibers of the tunic. The weave was tighter. Stronger. Who knew what hands made this, just for him when his destiny came to light. He wished it was his blue tunic. The weave on that loose, airy, clearly handmade. It was his more than this mantle.

"We're here."

Link opened his eyes, jolting from his meditative state. He saw gold dimly glittering in the darkness. A bioluminescent plant of some kind grew among the walls, giving the chamber a dark, but somewhat dim look. Then Link saw the gigantic beast he assumed was a fish. He didn't figure they got _that_ big.

The walls were cramped by its girth, not helped by the jewelry that bedecked him fin to fin. Raetalis patted the scales between two enormous eyes, "Hello sweetie, how are you?" Link clamped down on his ears at the loud and sickly moan. That _hurt_ his more sensitive hearing. Raetalis was undeterred, giving Jabu-Jabu a hug, "Oh sweetie, I know, it hurts." She backed up, presenting Link, "This is a friend who's come to help you!"

Link looked back at her with a glare, and then towards the fish with a small wave. Raetalis then pulled something from her golden and silver swaths of fabric. Link saw it was a smaller fish. She tossed it, "It's also feeding time."

Link began swimming backwards with a flurry of bubbles as Jabu-Jabu opened his mouth, sucking in the water. He futilely swam towards Raetalis, who watched him with apathy. Link angrily yelled at her, framing his confused glare in froth.

"You wanted the deepest of the waters." Raetalis said as Link continued getting sucked away.

"The deepest of the waters is a Zoran term for his lordship's innards."

* * *

PLOT TWIST IT GON GET SO SMELLY UP IN HERE


End file.
